An Ex from the Past
by Drk Knght
Summary: When a young girl and her Pokemon gets captured by team Rocket, a mysterious young man chases after them. But, he meets someone whom he'd thought he'd never see again. Can he rescue the captured girl and her Pokemon or will he lose control of himself?
1. Introduction

An Ex from the Past

Written By: Drk Knght

When a young female nearby cries out for help, she is aided by a young man who is in more trouble than she is. Can she be spared a gruesome fate and be saved in time or will her savior be overwhelmed and cast into the shadows forever?

"In the world which you are about to enter, you will embark on a grand adventure with you as the hero. Speak to people and check things wherever you go, be it towns, roads, or caves. Gather information and hints from every source. New paths will open to you by helping people in need, overcoming challenges, and solving mysteries. At times, you will be challenged by others and attacked by wild creatures. Be brave and keep pushing on. Through your adventure, we hope that you will interact with all sorts of people and achieve personal growth. May your adventure take you to new heights. I am looking forward to meeting you." —Professor Oak

This is a note that I had received two years ago when I contacted the Oak Laboratories in regards to becoming a Pokémon trainer. However, it took me that long to convince my parents that I could take care of myself alone. I was fourteen when I received that letter from this Professor Oak character. I was sixteen when I left for Pallet Town with the aspiration of becoming a Pokémon Master.

My arrival at Oak Laboratories proved to be fairly… disheartening. I seemed to arrive just as three other kids received their starter Pokémon. I had age superiority, dang it! But there was nothing that could be done. Professor Oak registered me as a trainer and handed me ten Pokéballs, a small electronic PokéDex, and a word of instruction. He said that I should head off and capture my own Pokémon and raise it as other trainers have done with the "starters."

I took his advice and left town. I _did_ capture a Pokémon and I began to raise it as my "starter" Pokémon. With the other Pokémon I caught in the Safari Zone on my fourteenth birthday, I left town more confident than when I had arrived. My adventures would lead me all over that land of wild and wondrous creatures. I met many diverse and special people on my journey. The events leading up to my meeting with Professor Oak and the actual beginning of my adventure is another story entirely.

My story starts three years after my registration as a trainer by Professor Oak in Pallet Town. I had gone through rigorous training with hopes that I could claim the title of the best that's ever been.


	2. Chapter 1: The Trio of Troublemakers

**Chapter 1: The Trio of Troublemakers**

The young trainer leaned back in the soft grass and gazed upward at the perfectly blue sky. After walking all morning, he needed to rest and the luscious grass felt comforting on his skin. He placed his hands behind his head and relaxed. A cool breeze blew over the grassland which made the grass and flowers sway back and forth. His sandy and blond hair waved slightly with the cooling wind.

He placed his red and white trainer hat on his raised knee and gazed at the gorgeous blue sky. Memories of the start of his journey came flooding back to him as another breeze drifted along the countryside. That very first Pokémon that he had captured near Pallet was a rare and unique one. The Pokémon seemed to be fearful upon first meeting but after much befriending, the trainer was able to finally gain the trust of his very first wild Pokémon.

The trainer's eyes began to close and he would have fallen into a restful sleep from all his journeying until a distressing cry echoed from over the hill. He tried to ignore it. But another plea for help compelled him to action. _Dang! _He grumbled to himself. _So much for my nap. _

He stood to his feet brushing off the grass and debris that had collected on his clothes. As he grabbed his bag he headed over to the source of the cry of help. As soon as he was over the hill, he saw the situation. At the base of the hill, three men in plain clothes taunted a female trainer much younger than themselves by throwing her travel bag back and forth amongst each other.

The trainer secured his belongings and reached for his Pokéballs and ran down to help this damsel. He prepared for a battle that would most likely occur when he approached the menacing trio.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

The burly group of men turned to face him and one of them replied gruffly, "And who might you be?"

"I asked you a question."

"So did I." came the sarcastic reply.

_Urghh… I hate people who talk like idiots._ "Fine. My name is Aiden Keith. Now, what's going on?"

"Hmph. We were just having a bit of fun, right, girlie?"

"My name is Vivian! Now give me back my stuff!" She reached out to snatch her backpack away from the first man only for him to toss it to another one of his companions. The first man then grabbed hold of her wrists as she tried to swing at him He then lifted her arms up into the air above her head.

"Now, now. There's no need to get all worked up. All we want is your Pokémon, Vivi. Can I call you that?"

Her response was to spit in the man's face. That, of course, didn't go over well. The man held her arms up with one hand and brought the palm of his other across her face. He smacked her so hard that she fell down onto the ground by Aiden with a rather large red outline of his hand on her delicate face. Her brown hair was disheveled and her clothes were wrinkled and dirty. But despite all of that, she still was a cutie.

Aiden bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her to her feet. "That," he began angrily, "is gonna cost you." He narrowed his eyes as he felt his entire body tense with the rising emotions.

"Yeah, and who are you? Her boyfriend?" another man scoffed.

"Or maybe you're her bodyguard?" the other man joined in.

"Oooo… You're really intimidating! Just look at his muscles! I think that I see a slight buldge where they were supposed to be!" the first man said in obvious sarcasm as he elbowed his buddies. The three men laughed and elbowed each other.

"At least I _have_ a place for some," Aiden shot back.

"Wow! You got balls, kid!" The first man stepped closer to Aiden. As he got close he flexed his muscles and breathed into Aiden's face, "But you have no idea who you're mouthing off too, do you?" The stench of something foul hit Aiden's nostrils and it nearly made him sick.

"For one, you need a breath mint. And two, for your own safety, I suggest that you leave her alone."

The man stared back at this kid, his mouth gaping. Did he just say that? "Come again? Was that… a threat?"

One of the other men behind him spoke up. "No one threatens us and gets away with it."

"We'll teach you not to mess with members of Team Rocket!" Dropping the light yellowish bag to the ground, the rough trio looked at each other and nodded. Each one of them took out a Pokéball and threw them into the air. Three Pokémon emerged from a brilliant flash of light in front of their respective trainers ready to battle. A rather large yellowish-furry rat with menacing and protruding incisors appeared at the left most man's side. Slightly bigger than the rat creature, the second Pokémon appeared and it resembled a large armadillo with multiple rocky spikes protruding from its back. It had a pair a large scythe-like claws on either hand and it stood upright with its claws ready for battle at the right most man's side. The ring leader had a Pokémon that was much taller and much more menacing than the other two creatures. As the flash of the Pokéball disappeared, it was replaced by a purple, cobra snake that hissed as it glared at his opponents. His tongue flicked in and out of its mouth in anticipation of the coming battle. In order from Aiden's perspective from left to right the Pokémon were identified as Raticate, Arbok, Sandslash.

_At last! I thought that I'd have to force them to battle! Time to shine! _Aiden smirked and readied himself for battle. He turned and addressed the girl named Vivian. "Stay behind me. I'll protect you." He grabbed a Pokéball and summoned his Pokémon to the field. There was a bright flash followed by the appearance of his Pokémon. It was a lizard-like creature that stood upright on two legs. It was a little over three feet tall. The creature had razor sharp claws on both hand and feet. A single horn proceeded from out of the back of his head. He whipped his tail back and forth causing the flame on the end of it to dance in the air. But the most notable feature was not the claws or the flame tail, it was the color.

"What is that?" one of the men declared.

"I think… it's a… Charmeleon," the other man said doubtly. "But I thought that they were red, not orange."

"You're going to fight us with that… thing?" the first man said. "Please! And what's wrong with his skin? Is that supposed to scare me? Wait, I know, you're such a terrible trainer that his skin has turned colors because he's sick! Regardless, we'll still make you regret insulting members of Team Rocket!"

Aiden, as well as his Pokémon, glanced at each other and seemed to smile. "My Pokémon is _fine_. In fact, he could take all three of yours' at once and win! Charmeleon, Go!" The shiny orange fire lizard charged at the opposing Pokémon so fast that it a trail of fire traced the ground behind him as he moved.

The first Pokémon, the Raticate, charged but was unprepared for the agility of the fire Pokémon. Charmeleon was in front of it before it even had time to react. The lizard unleashed an intense heat wave in the rat's face so powerful that the grass below the beam withered and shrunk away in fear. Charmeleon then grabbed it and tossed him up into the air and tail whipped it even higher.

The other two Pokémon started their attack runs. The Arbok lunged and tried to wrap its tail around Charmeleon but the fire lizard was too quick. It leapt into the air slightly and cast another intense wave of flames down upon the snake. When the fire subsided, Arbok was singed and blackened in places, but it could still attack just not as fast as it could have. Charmeleon landed with his back towards the snake. The snake sprang after the fire lizard trying to subdue the lizard with its powerful bite and lethal venom.

"I got you now!" the ring leader hissed with excitement.

With a quick, precisely timed command from its master, Charmeleon turned to face the cobra, back flipped, and whipped the cobra's mouth closed. The strike was so powerful that the over one hundred pound cobra was flung backwards with its intensely hot tail. It crashed down into the earth with a nauseating thud just as the Charmeleon landed gracefully on the ground.

The triumph was short lived when suddenly the Sandslash leapt into the air from behind the downed cobra. It slashed down on Charmeleon, but a quick forwards roll by the lizard and Sandslash's attack missed it mark. Charmeleon, now behind his opponent, leapt high into the air and cast a blaze down upon the victim. It was so intense that everyone felt the heat radiate from the attack. Sweat formed rapidly on every person's face as the heat radiated through the air with the fire assault. As long as the attack continued, Charmeleon was raised up into the air a little bit more.

Sandslash tried initially to fight the flames by cutting through them with its claws, but its efforts were to no avail. Through the fire everyone saw that the moments of the Pokémon became more and more sluggish. All it could do was use its claws now to shield its face from the attack. The intensity of Charmeleon's fire attack was so blistering that the temperature of the battlefield was raised a few degrees in the short span of the attack.

The relentless flame assault suddenly stopped and Sandslash appeared from the flames, hurt badly evidenced by the significant amount of carbon scaring on its hide; however, it still had a will to battle. A small shadow, which was initially difficult to see because of the charred grass and dirt, appeared on the ground in front of the Sandslash which soon encompassed its entire body. Everyone's eyes immediately looked for the shadow's source above the spike-backed armadillo only to realize that it was the Raticate from before finally coming back down to earth. Exhaustion kept Sandslash from evading and it dropped to one knee as it tried to deny what was inevitable and escape the collision.

Charmeleon, still in the air, looked at his trainer and they seemed to nod to each other. The golden Pokémon glanced at the falling Raticate and spun in the air and struck the Pokémon with his tail so as to accelerate its descent to earth. The accelerated tail whip action caused a fire trail to follow Raticate all the way to the ground and into the awaiting Sandslash.

The crash was nearly deafening as both Pokémon collided, sending dirt in every direction and creating a dust cloud so intense that it became difficult to breath easily. Silence soon accompanied the battlefield as the results of what had just happened slowly began to register in everyone's mind. When the cloud dissipated, the three trainers gasped at the sight of all three of their Pokémon, all unconscious, lying in a small crater created no doubt by that last attack. The battle was over! And so quickly!

The men then looked past that sight to see Charmeleon standing in front of his trainer glaring at them with an intense gaze that begged for them to do something foolish so it could attack again. The lust for battle in its eyes seemed to beg for more of a challenge from the Team Rocket members. It was almost as if this Charmeleon hungered for battle and was now disappointed that it was done.

The battle had ended as quickly as it had begun and Aiden and his Pokémon glared at the three men who seemed to be in total shock that their Pokémon had lost so quickly. Aiden then spoke up in a deep, seemingly arrogant tone, "Your three Pokémon are weak and poorly trained compared to my one Pokémon. Now that they have been defeated, I suggest that you leave."

Aiden and Charmeleon took a step toward the men in perfect unison, their eyes still aflame from the heat of the battle. "Or would you rather stay and continue fighting because we would love to accommodate that too." The Team Rocket members looked at the young trainer with disdain. They looked at each other grudgingly accepting what had happened. They recalled their Pokémon and slowly backed away from the scene.

The ring-leader made one final remark before he turned and left: "You'll pay for this, kid. I'll make sure of it. I'll make you regret ever crossing my path." With that, the troublemakers turned and left Aiden and the girl whom he had saved alone.

Vivian watched in amazement as this mysterious boy soundly defeated her attackers and did not seem to break out in a sweat, except when his Pokémon was using its flame attack. But, he kept himself calm, cool, and collected during the entire struggle. She reached up with her hand to wipe the excessive perspiration off of her forehead realizing that she probably sweated more than he did.

She watched him as he walked slowly over to her bag, glance around for any other threats, and pick it up. He then turned around allowing her to see the countenance of her savior.

When he turned to face her, his pacific blue eyes caught her attention almost immediately and she could not remove her gaze from his eyes. Small locks of his sandy blond hair extended to his eyebrows captivating her attention even more.

Suddenly, Vivian realized that she was staring at him for the longest time and her face changed colors from her normal skin tone to a deep shade of crimson. Glancing down at the ground, she noticed that some of her stuff was scattered on the ground. Kneeling down, Vivian began to collect the wayward items into a pile.

Aiden watched as the girl eyed him and then saw her face blush and her sudden action of picking up her stuff that was strewn across the ground. He bent down and began to help pick things up for her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, thanks to you," she replied bashfully.

"I believe these belong to you," he said as he handed her a couple of items.

She looked up at him shortly, smiled cutely, and accepted the items and her bag that was handed to her. His voice seemed to calm her soul and bring peace to the very core of her being. "Thank you so much. I would have battled them myself but they took my bag. And that is where I kept my Pokéballs," she replied nervously feeling her face flush with excitement and nervousness at the same time. "I'm Vivian." She extended her hand to Aiden who graciously accepted it and gave it a warm squeeze and a shake.

He couldn't help but stop and admire the beauty of this girl. Her brunette colored hair had many highlights and gave off a sweet aroma that wafted into Aiden's nose intoxicating him, making him want another smell. Her smooth, gentle face was small and slender. Her brown eyes were loving and caring as could be. As he shook her hand, he noticed how soft and smooth her hand was. Aiden felt his face flush with the same color red as her but he tried to push that feeling down as he tried to act as professional as possible.

"I'm Aiden. It's a pleasure to meet you." They stood up and grabbed their respective bags. Aiden took his eyes off of Vivian to grab his stuff and noticed that his Charmeleon was standing a ways off behind his legs. "Hey," Aiden whispered addressing his Pokémon, "It's okay. She's not going to hurt you." Aiden prodded his Pokémon with his hand and he cautiously and slowly stepped out in front of his trainer.

Vivian glanced over her shoulder and noticed a medium sized Pokémon slowly walk in front of his trainer. Its head was bowed low and it seemed as if it were scared to move anywhere. "Oh, if it isn't Charmeleon? He's so cute," she announced gleefully. The small lizard perked up and looked at the young girl. When eye contact was made, Vivian continued, "Thank you so much, Charmeleon." This seemed to delight the Pokémon and he looked up at his trainer and seemed to smile.

"See? I told you she is all right. You can trust her," Aiden said with his calming and soothing voice. Charmeleon looked back at Vivian and opened up more to this girl whom he could now trust. He ran over to her and hugged her leg and Vivian reached out and scratched the top of its head which it seemed to thoroughly enjoy. "All right, now. You need to rest, little buddy." With that, Aiden grabbed his Pokéball and recalled his Pokémon back inside of its ball.

As he put the ball away, Aiden narrowed his eyes and glanced around indistinctly, feeling as if he was being watched carefully by someone other than Vivian. But he dismissed that feeling when Vivian started talking to him. "Aiden, was it?" He nodded. "Thank you for all of your help," she began.

"Don't worry about it. You should consider traveling in a group. It would be safer that way. Do you have anyone you're going with?"

"No," she replied sheepishly, shaking her head back and forth.

"No? Vivian, you mean that you're out here all alone?" Aiden asked in astonishment.

"Yes. I-I thought that I could handle myself, but I guess not. I'm not cut out to be a Pokémon trainer, am I?"

"That's not true! All you need is a little bit of coaching and some life experience, both of which I could give you if you want." Aiden looked at the girl with a hopeful smile.

Vivian bowed her head and her hat covered up her eyes. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Well, you see, my mom said that I should learn to be a homemaker. She said that I should learn cooking skills not Pokémon skills. But that type of life wasn't for me. I wanted to explore the world and become a Pokémon trainer."

"Hmmm… Seems to me that we have something in common," Aiden mused loud enough for her to hear. Vivian looked up at him finally with a slight watering in her eyes. "If you want, I could travel with you for a little while to keep you safe. Would you like that? You wouldn't be alone anymore. And I can do my best to help you reach the next town."

He extended his hand toward her and she looked at it, agonizing over what to do. She then came to a decision that she thought was right. She grabbed his hand and replied, "Sure, I'd love that. And you can call me Vi. That's what my friends call me."

Aiden's ears perked up when he heard that he could call her by her shortened name. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze just to make sure that he was not dreaming. Once he determined that he wasn't, Aiden looked into Vi's eyes and said, "Well then, Vi, let's make our way into town. We can figure out what happens when we get there."


	3. Chapter 2:Special Pokemon Training

**Chapter 2: Special Pokémon Training**

Saffron City seemed busy as usual as the pair of trainers entered from the north end of the flashy city. The towering building of the Silph Company stood erect and taller than all of the other buildings. Even though it was at the center of the city, it was not the building visited most often by passing travelers. Many of the travelers came for the gym and not for the Pokémon accessory producing corporation. Besides, it was only an office filled building.

A small sign confirmed that indeed, Aiden and Vi had entered Saffron for it read: "SAFFRON CITY: Shining, Golden City of Commerce." City of commerce was right for the moment the pair of trainers found the main street, an endless wave of people passed by bustling about their business and going from place to place in a hurry. To any country person, this sight would be overwhelming.

The hustle and bustle caused by not only the locals but also visitors for a parade of some sorts made it difficult to hear the question asked by the brunette trainer. But Aiden was not really paying attention for he spotted a couple of shady figures; one suspiciously held something under his coat in a rather gruff manner and the other nodded in agreement. Both looked oddly familiar but he just could not place where he'd seen them before, if at all. Once they looked around cautiously, both men slipped behind some of the houses and back into the alley. Just before they disappeared, though, the slight glimpse of what looked like a grassy green twin tail caught the attention of the male trainer. Something about the pair seemed oddly familiar. Aiden was about to give chase when a fist gently connected with his arm.

"Oh. Sorry. Did you say something?" Aiden asked turning towards the brunette female as she gave him a look of forged loathing. Her slightly pouting lip and puppy dog eyes greeting the blond male and it made him feel bad but at the same time he thought, _Wow, she looks so cute when she does that!_

"I asked you if you knew where the Pokémon Center was?" She repeated her previously unheard question. "And why weren't you listening to me?"

"I-I…uh…guess that I didn't hear you over all of this noise. Sorry. I forgot just how boisterous the city could be," he half lied. The city was quite a bit noisier than from the countryside that they had once come from.

"Well, okay, I'll forgive you just this once." Vivian gave him a wink and held up one finger signifying her one time of forgiving his deafness. "So, where is the Pokémon Center?"

"I believe that it's at the other end of town." Aiden pointed in the general direction of where the Center was located. "I would love to walk with you there, but I, uh, have some things I need to take care of right now," Aiden half-lied. Well it wasn't exactly a lie because he did have something he needed to do. As much as he wanted to show this pretty girl around, he had to go see what those two men were doing at that alley. Besides, there was something else that had caught his attention that he wanted to investigate.

"Well, what do you need to do? Maybe I can help out!" Vivian asked with a look of excitement written all over her face.

Aiden shook his head in negation. "I… uh, don't mean to burst your bubble, but this is something that only I can do." He felt his heart drop upon seeing the disappointment on the girl's face. "But I tell you what, I'll probably be in town for a few days so maybe we can hang out later. If you're gonna stay at the Pokémon Center then I should be able to find you."

"All right! Sounds good!" Vivi said with the perkiness coming back to her face.

"But right now you need to focus on developing a strategy to defeat the gym leader Sabrina. She's a very tough opponent who has given many people a difficult time when they've come through Saffrom City. And her specialty is psychic type Pokémon, so keep that in mind." Aiden then spun around and began to step away but then turned his head back towards Vivian and told her one last thing. "Good luck! And I hope to see you soon!"

Then the blond trainer took a few more steps into the passing crowd and then suddenly disappeared from Vivian's view. "Wait!" she called out as she began to give chase but he was no where to be found. "Where'd he go?" She scanned the crowds hoping to see his six foot figure towering above the other people but she had no luck. After fruitlessly pushing her way through the mob of passersby she finally gave up hope of finding him, at least for the moment. "He's right, I guess. I need to focus on defeating Sabrina. But I still can't help but wonder what he had to do?"

Aiden watched from his concealed position behind one of the nearby buildings as Vivian searched in vain for him and then finally turned around and headed for the Pokémon Center, no doubt to focus on her next gym battle. "She is a pretty girl and she has a very caring heart. I would like nothing more than to meet with you later. I just hope that this feeling of unease about those two earlier is nothing. Still, I can't have you along with me in case a battle ensued because I don't know if I'd be able to protect you. And knowing my luck…"

Reaching into his bag, Aiden produced a Pokéball that was half white and half purple with a small case letter "m" engraved right above the release mechanism. He looked at it for the longest time contemplating whether or not to summon the beast that dwelt inside of it. But after a long moment of thought, Aiden put the ball away on his belt and reached for the rest of his Pokéballs and placed four other balls on his belt. Once that was done, the blonde kid looked up and into the alley where he had seen the mysterious party skulking about.

"It's show time. Time to find out just what you guys are trying to hide." With a dash that made him seem like lightning, Aiden disappeared into the alley way to give chase to these mysterious culprits.

* * *

Vivian wandered around town for a little while taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. There were vendors lined up on both sides of the main street selling various Pokémon-related items and accessories for some kind of parade or celebration or something.

The brunette female spotted a booth that caught her attention. The advertisement on the board was this: "Special Pokémon Training." Intrigued, Vivian started to make her way across the street and was nearly to the booth when a large man bumped into her so hard that she nearly lost her balance.

"Pardon me," he said gruffly shifting the strap of the bag he carried more on his shoulder while still walking away from her rather quickly.

Vivian regained her footing and glanced back at the quickly retreating man. "How rude!" she exclaimed in a huff. Her eyes suddenly fell upon the characters which composed the back of his coat. In rather large lettering, the fanciful design of a "T" and an "R" were printed on the back of his coat. Against the black background of the coat, those red letters were very evident. "Just who was that guy anyways?"

The girl shrugged off any more reflection to her quandary and turned her attention and focus to the booth in front of her. She walked up to the front of the booth and was greeted by the sight of a single individual. The young female vendor seemed to be slightly older than her, perhaps between the ages of 18 and 20 and was dressed in professional looking Pokémon trainer clothes that were extremely fashionable in this and other regions of the world. The most notable feature on her outfit was the embroidered characters of a fancied "T" and "R" on the upper left portion of her clothing.

The female vendor was the first to speak. "Greetings, young trainer. Are you here to have your Pokémon trained to be the best using our patented training system? For a small price, your Pokémon can become the best Pokémon in battle in only two days! What do you say? All you have to do is give us your Pokémon and let us train them for two days. And if you're not satisfied with the results, then you don't have to pay us. Guaranteed!"

Vivian was taken back by the forwardness by which this woman spoke to her. The eagerness in her voice to take her Pokémon seemed slightly unnerving but the younger trainer passed that feeling away and inquired more into this interesting offer.

"What do you mean?" Vivian asked.

"You're a trainer, are you not?"

"Um…Yeah…" Vivian replied seemingly unsure of herself.

"And you do have Pokémon, right?" the woman continued to ask.

"Of course I do."

"We can make your Pokémon stronger and nearly unbeatable." The tone of the female vendor lowered as she spoke. It was almost as if she were revealing a secret. "You could walk into a gym and walk out a few minutes later with a gym badge. Your battles will be no problem. And instead of training all day with your Pokémon and not getting the results you want and having that time wasted, you could give your Pokémon to us and let us have them and train them. By the time were through with them, they'll be much stronger. We can accomplish more than what most trainers can do in a month in only two days!"

Her words were appealing and the simplicity of what needed to be done was almost too easy. Vivian could simply hand her Pokémon over and in a few days, these people could accomplish so much more than she could ever hope to do in a month. She had been struggling with training her Pokémon. It was a slow and arduous process and she wished that there was an easier way to make her Pokémon get stronger. And these people seemed confident enough in their abilities to train that they could make her Pokémon the powerhouses that she wanted.

Vivian then remembered what Aiden had told her and how that the gym leader in the city, Sabrina or something, had given many trainers trouble. But if her Pokémon were strong enough then defeating Sabrina would be no problem at all.

"Hmmm…I don't know…" Vivian spoke doubtfully. Still, she had always been taught that nothing comes easy and that training Pokémon is hard work. Her parents had practically drilled those infamous words into her head: _"Work hard because nothing comes easy, especially when it comes to training Pokémon. And remember, there is no easy way to do it other than hard work and determination."_

"What's there to think about? Almost every trainer that has come to our booth has given up their Pokémon to us for training." A smile that did not quite seem natural cropped onto the woman's face as she continued to speak. "I promise you that you will not be disappointed with our results."

"Well, all right." Vivian pulled out five Pokéballs and set them down on the counter allowing the female vendor to eye them with a certain degree of satisfaction.

"Thank you very much, Miss. It was great doing business with 'ya. We'll let you know when they're ready for you," the lady quickly shuffled the balls into a wooden box and handed it to back behind her where another figure veiled in shadows grabbed the box and disappeared once more behind the curtain of the back of the booth.

The lady was so quick to take her Pokéballs away that Vivian had not given up her sixth Pokémon. When the young trainer looked into her eyes, something about the way she looked frightened her. Vivian then noticed the embroidered letters on her shirt and realized that those were the same letters that were on the back of that one man's jacket.

Vivian still had a hand in her bag trying to fish out the last Pokéball so that that creature too could be trained when suddenly the female vendor slid a wooden plank in front of the window signifying that they were closing up shop.

The lady noticed that Vivian was still standing in front of her booth with a hand still in her bag. Just out of curiosity, she asked, "Do you have another Pokémon? Or is that it, because I must be going."

Vivian squeezed the lone Pokéball in her bag contemplating her surrender of her last Pokémon. "Where are you going? Aren't you staying in town?" Vivian asked feeling more uneasy about the speed at which her and her partner were packing up.

"Of course we're staying in town! Why, you don't think that our organization would leave town just like that do 'ya? Besides, we have Pokémon to train, remember? And we have a lot of 'em to train so unless you have any more Pokémon for us then we must be going."

The hold Vivian held onto her Pokéball loosened and she extracted her empty hand from her bag. "Nope. I don't have any more."

The woman eyed her suspiciously but then shrugged and smiled. "All right then. Don't you worry about your Pokémon. They're in good hands. We'll be sure to train them well. We'll see you later." The female vendor then disappeared behind the booth and through the curtain.

Vivian stood in place for a second and felt the air around her chill slightly. Goosebumps rippled across her skin sending shivers throughout her body. "Well, I guess I'll turn in for the afternoon. But, why do I feel so uneasy?"

She turned and took a step forward before she felt a stinging pain on the back her neck and her vision started to tunnel into darkness. She soon lost consciousness and slumped back into the arms of the woman vendor. The one who had delivered the blow held in his hand the box containing Vivian's Pokémon.

"Looks like you have one more left." The man chuckled evilly as he grabbed her bag which had tumbled off her shoulder and onto the road. "With your help, I'll make sure that he'll regret ever crossing the paths of us Team Rocket members."

* * *

"Where'd they go?" Aiden turned a corner in the dank back alley to see nothing but soggy trash littering the sides of the narrow walls. "I lost 'em. Dang it! They couldn't have gotten very far." The air smelled of what seemed like rotting meat and the darkness consumed his vision.

Suddenly from the blackness echoed the reverberation of tinkling metal sounds against the cold cement alley. Instantly, the blond trainer reached for a Pokéball on his belt and held his hand on them and glanced around guardedly for the source of the disturbance. He kept one of his hands out in front of him so as to deflect any attack made against him. His eyes shifted back and forth but the sound was nigh undetectable because it echoed back and forth in the narrow alley.

Again, the light sounds of a rattling metal can echoed throughout the alley but this time the source of the sound came rolling out into the alleyway and came to rest in a murky, mud-filled puddle.

Keeping his eyes aware and his ears alert, the master trainer crept slowly towards where the metal can made its final rest. He advanced with such swift grace that hardly a sound from his feet was made. Aiden's shadow finally encompassed the can but as he looked around he saw nothing except grossly cracked and battered walls and trash littering both sides of the alley.

"Strange…" Aiden whispered keeping his voice low in case someone nearby heard him and sprung a trap. Slightly shifting trash bags off diagonally to his right immediately caught his attention and he sprang backward and pulled out a Pokéball but did not summon his defense.

Sweat dripped from his forehead and rolled down into his face as he felt his heartbeat quicken and his breath shortening and becoming more and more rapid. His narrowed eyes focused on that one particular spot hoping to be rewarded with the sight of something harmless.

Suddenly, a few bags of trash were elevated off the ground floor and hovered only for a moment before they quickly accelerated at the blond trainer. Moving quickly, he leapt up into the air and extended both his feet to grip the sides of the alley wall only to be met with a large metal trash can flying into his path. The metal can connected with his body with a clang and Aiden was sent skidding down on the slimy, mucky floor several meters from his original position.

The boy leaned up from the ground and caught sight of yet another bag of flying debris coming his way. _What is going on here?_ He clenched his fist in the murky water he was sitting in and his eyes narrowed as he entered his battle mood. _I've had enough of this._ Calculating the precise moment to strike, Aiden suddenly leaned back down into the muck and brought his knees up to his chest and then propelled his body backward just as the debris connected with his feet. He rolled backwards sending the trash harmlessly out of view behind him and rolled into a kneeling position as his feet skidded in the muck a few feet. He stood to his feet and shifted his hat backwards and summoned his defense.

"Ditto. Come forth!"

With a snap and a flash the Ditto appeared and sparkled with its blue gelatinous, amorphic body structure. Incoming debris from the unknown caster bolted with even more fervor towards the master and follower. Without having to hear any instructions from the master the Ditto immediately stretched its body out and attached itself to both walls in the narrow alley completely shielding his master. The trash and other flying debris collided with the stretched out creature and bounced back with a rubber-like twang sound. The flying debris assault slowly lessened until the last few articles of debris simply dropped to the ground.

Sensing that the assault was pretty much completed the transparent blue Ditto unlatched itself from the walls and assumed its usual gelatin-like form. Though it sensed the battle was done, the Pokémon did not for a second let down its guard.

Aiden slowly walked past his Ditto, who followed close behind, and up to the original position he was in before he was attacked. Then, he saw it. Lying in the mess of the garbage was the sight of a badly beaten and bruised greenish twin-tailed feline-like creature that glared at both of them with its dark eyes. Its ears were drooped low and it struggled to no avail to stand on its four paws. A weak growl emanated from it the closer Aiden and Ditto got but the trainer would not be dissuaded.

"It's a Shiny Espeon!" Aiden gasped in disbelief as he quickly glanced from his own Shiny back to the green creature. Shinies were a rare breed and he had only come in contact with a few of them. And to see one now…

Suddenly, Aiden recalled earlier in the day that he had seen one of the mysterious men carrying something small in his arms and concealed by his coat. He looked down at the Espeon's twin green tail and it finally struck him.

_This must be what I saw earlier! But why leave it here? Why just abandon such a rare creature of beauty?_ Aiden looked up and observed his surroundings trying to understand just what exactly had happened. The walls were cracked and there were several deep indentations in the wall as if someone punched it or possible threw something into at the wall leaving that impression. As he followed a particular crack mark with his eyes, Aiden's attention was suddenly drawn to an indentation in the wall directly above the fallen Espeon. Aiden's eyes widened in horror and immediately, things became clear in his mind.

He looked down at the Shiny with a more gracious and caring look, yet, the Pokémon still glared at him daring him to make a move even though it was in no condition to battle. It wobbled and shook and seemed to lack the energy and vigor to back up its threatening gaze.

"It's okay. I'm here to help." Aiden squatted down and gazed into the Pokémon's eyes and spoke with deepest sincerity. "Those men did this to you, didn't they?" The Shiny Espeon jerked slightly as if jolted by the truth of his statement, but nonetheless remained fairly motionless. "How any man could live with himself after abusing a living creature as unique as you is beyond mortal conception! Here, allow me to help you…" Aiden extended his hand out shakily toward the Pokémon as his breath came in shorter and shorter intervals. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up erect and his body tingled with chills as his hand got closer.

The Espeon obviously tried to move from its position and its eyes narrowed even more than before. It had finally decided that Aiden's hand was close enough and tried to repel him away with a Night Shade attack. Its eyes glowed for a second and then the color faded and the effect that was intended happen never did. Espeon was too incredibly weak. It could barely stand let alone summon the strength to fight off any type of grip.

Quivering, the small green Shiny Pokémon shook in anxiety as it knew that it was done for. It closed its eyes one last time sensing its final demise at the hands of this human. However, much to Espeon's surprise, a gentle hand rested on its left ear and the hand began to massage lightly the bruises on its head. Espeon's eyes shot open and it gazed straight into the eyes of the blond trainer and immediately sensed the deep rooted compassion overflowing from his heart and soul.

Aiden gently rubbed the wounded Pokémon's head and stroked its body feeling the extent of the injuries sustained. _How could any creature so badly wounded manage to summon up its powers and execute them so flawlessly? _As his fingertips rubbed across the length of the creature, the fur of the creature was matted, splitting, and rough, all evidences of a poorly treated Pokémon.

"I can't believe they'd do this to you. They have treated you so ruthlessly and have no doubt left you here to die. **I…will…not** let that happen. You may not trust me but I don't really care. Right now you need help. Once I'm done with you, you can go free and I'll be sure to seek revenge for what was done to you."

Aiden motioned for his Ditto to come closer and seemingly telepathically told the thing what exactly to do. A second later there stood in the alley on four paws a green colored replica of the fallen Espeon by the side of the blond trainer.

"Now the fun really begins…"

6


	4. Chapter 3: Rooftop Battle Pt 1

**Chapter 3: Rooftop Battle Pt. 1**

The Pokémon center was busy as it always was but it seemed to be busier thanks to the parade that was being held and the vast number of trainers and guests that arrived in town just for this special event. The nurses working the center were busy tending to wearied Pokémon.

Most of the patrons in the center were of the younger generation with the exception of just a few older and perhaps more experienced trainers. A couple of the boy trainers were arguing over whose Pokémon would win in a battle while others yet discussed the next battle they would have with Sabrina.

The younger girls were discussing topics such as the latest fashion accessories to make their own Pokémon the cutest one ever while the older girls watched on in amusement at the vigor of the other trainers. Hardly anyone noticed the tall blond trainer with muddy clothes entering the relief center who paced quite swiftly to the front reception desk.

"Excuse… me…" the trainer spoke in between great huffs and puffs of air.

"I'm sorry. We're extremely busy. Could you wait for just a moment?" the reply from the sweet nurse chimed back to the seemingly exhausted boy. "We have to deal with emergencies and extreme…"

"Listen! This is extremely important! Have you seen anyone by the name Vivian perhaps come through here today? She's…ummm…about yea tall with shoulder length brunette hair with a circular shaped white hat and…"

"Sir…we've dealt with countless number of trainers today. And…" the nurse paused as her gaze fell down to the recent sticky note attached to the desk. She read the small note and disappeared behind the desk as she squatted down to retrieve something from behind the desk. She popped up seconds later with a beige colored travel bag and set it down on the counter.

The trainer's eyes widened as he recognized the bag as belonging to Vivian but he started to pray that he was mistaken and that this was not her bag after all. The nurse unzipped a side pocket and produced a small portable PokéDex and continued to open it up.

"_This unit belongs to the trainer _'Vivian Marie' _and is proof of the earned rank of a Pokémon trainer…"_

The nurse shut the device down and looked up at the trainer. "Does that name ring a bell?"

"Umm…Perhaps…Can I look inside the bag for just a moment?" he asked as his voice shook and quivered so suddenly from what it had been before.

"I can't do that unless you are family, a close relative, or are Vivian herself…"

"This is a matter of her life being in danger!" With the raised tone of his voice the Center soon began to fill with an unearthly hush as now many of the other trainers noticed the commotion occurring at the front desk. He glanced around briefly realizing that he raised up unwanted alarm and turned back to the nurse with a much less frantic and hushed tone of voice. "I need to see the contents of her bag to see if this is really belongs to the girl I'm thinking of."

The nurse thought for a moment and then pushed forward the bag for the boy to look through. "It was brought here about an hour ago with a note for the person looking for the girl named Vivian." She reached for the sticky note and flipped it over and handed it to the blond male who seemed to lose the color from his face quicker than syrup running off a plate.

His head jolted back and forth as his eyes read the note etched on the back of the sticky note. He glanced up and as he spoke his hand clenched the paper into a tiny wade of nothingness. "What did the girl look like? You remember?"

"Umm…I don't know really. I think that she was kind of short but, you know, chubby or uh…**built**. She had brunette hair and many different highlights that actually made her look quite attractive and beautiful. I'd say she was in her late teens…"

"C-r-a-p!" he whispered forcefully under his breath. "Thanks for your help. I have to leave, **now**!" he grabbed the bag and took off running out of the center leaving the nurse and those nearby most perplexed by his sudden leave.

"Your welcome…I think…" the confused nurse replied as she began to busy herself with her overwhelming load of work.

As he reached the outdoors, the blond trainer slung the bag over his shoulder and reached for a Pokéball as he ran westward. The small, spherical object swirled in the air as it was tossed upward and suddenly exploded in a brilliant flash of light and the silhouette of a Dragonair became visible until it finally took physical form. The glimmer of the light purple Pokémon went practically unnoticed as it flew next to its master before he leapt up allowing the Dragonair to catch him and carry him aloft.

"Dragonair, looks like we are going to go visit an old _friend_." The emphasis on the word friend escaped his lips through clenched teeth as his body convulsed in a sudden shudder as the name of the person rang through his mind and polluted both it like a poison. His fist clenched as he shook his head attempting to cast away the feeling. But despite his efforts, the memories that they had once shared assailed his memories once more and he could not help but echo her name. _Maranda - Mandi… If it is you, then it's time I settle it once and for all. I cannot handle being hurt by you again. And may God help me if __**he**__ is there with you…_

* * *

On the roof of the shopping mall high aloft several stories up on its small plateau in the nearby city of Celadon stood a young woman whose short highlighted brunette hair waved gently with the breeze of the higher altitude winds. She lifted her hand up to her face and tossed a wayward strand of hair from her eyes as she kept watch for her guest. A quick glance at her watch revealed that it had been nearly two hours since he had arrived in Saffron. It would not be much longer.

And as if right on que, she looked toward the city off in the distance and saw approaching in a rapid pace a shiny Dragonair and the guest whom she had been waiting for sitting on top of the Pokémon.

"There you are…" she whispered while she smiled slightly.

Meanwhile Aiden was frantically searching from his high vantage point the location he received when he was suddenly alerted by his Pokémon to the lone figure standing on the roof of the Celadon City market.

"That's her… Put me down right across from her," Aiden ordered with his tone of voice more strained from his usual relaxed tone. Just seeing her brought back so many memories that he had sealed away ever since… _Focus, Aiden. Don't let her get to you._

As it was instructed, the Dragonair soared around the building and hovered its master over to the opposite end of the roof and the opposite end of the stair tower. At just the right moment and height, Aiden leapt from off his seat on his Pokémon and landed on the roof with the grace and ease that he had taken a long time to master. He slowly rose from his kneeling position and recalled his Dragonair to its ball. His eyes immediately locked on with the short brunette standing directly across from him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Maranda spoke in a somewhat cheerful tone.

"Where is she?" Aiden asked coldly as he narrowed his eyes on the girl. With a quick shift of his eyes, he scanned the rooftop for any indication that Vivian was here but he found none.

"What are you talking about? Who?" Maranda replied feigning ignorance and shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. She smiled sweetly and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Aiden lowered his head and snarled a bit from her mocking reply. She knew exactly who he was talking about and knew exactly where she was. "Where's Vivian? What did you do with her?"

"Ooo. Now, now. There's no need to shout at me. Is that anyway to treat your old girlfriend?" Maranda lifted her right hand to her lips and kissed her fingers and then blew her air kiss in his direction.

"I am in no mood to play games with you. One of the reasons that I came is so that we can settle our differences and that you can stay out of my life. I don't know why you left me for him, but…"

"I did not leave you!" interrupted the raised voice of the female. "It was a decision made by both of us. Don't you _dare_ try to put this on me! Things weren't working out between us. We both had our doubts. It was a good decision for both of us."

"'A good decision'? You shattered my heart! Whether you believe it or not, men do have feelings. But almost as soon as you left me, almost immediately you started to date… that… that bastard!" Aiden spoke that last word through clenched teeth unable to summon up enough respect to speak the name.

The image of the one whom Aiden spoke about flashed in his mind. His features had never been what many people would consider handsome and Aiden had been told that by countless numbers of people. His nose protruded from his face and the way he hunched over made him resemble a lazy pot-bellied bear. And when he walked, he looked like a wounded penguin trying to stay upright. What this girl saw in him was something not apparent on the outside.

"How dare you say that about him! You only say that because you're jealous!"

"Yeah? Jealous of what? Jealous of some coward who doesn't even have the guts to talk to me himself? Jealous of the way he hurts other people without regard? Of cutting them down with hurtful remarks and reducing them to a level below himself just so he can feel good about himself? Jealous of the way he _lied _to our_ faces_? Maranda, you have given him way too many chances. And for the one time that I lied to you he has done it more times than you can count. Are those the qualities that draws you to a man, if you could call him that? Is that something that you want to live with for the rest of your life? Ohh, I am sooo jealous."

"He is so much more than that! I've seen a side of him that is loving and compassionate. He's been so careful when you're around…"

"Really? And when I'm not around?" Aiden counted as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm no fool. I knew what you two did that you thought that I didn't see. I should have done something about it. But I just let it go until I finally left our group once and for all."

"I don't think you quite realize how much you hurt Jon's feelings when you left our group." Maranda, now quite calmed down from earlier, sighed a great sigh of heaviness as the weight of the memory sat upon her shoulders.

_I… don't believe it! She's sticking up for that bastard's feelings! What about my own! To be used everyday as her shield from the watchful eyes of the authorities…_ Whatever calming feelings that had settled over the blond man were suddenly washed away with an intense feeling of being completely deserted.

"What about me? How do you think I felt when you two would do your little escapades?"

"We never did anything in front of you!" Maranda argued raising her voice from her once calmed tone.

_That's a lie._ Aiden countered mentally swallowing those words down along with the saliva that had gathered in his mouth.

"We were very careful in front of you and we never did anything when you were with us!" Maranda eyed him carefully watching his body language trying to determine what he would try to do, if anything.

_That is a load of bull-crap and you know it! _Aiden gritted his teeth and held his tongue back from reverberating his thoughts so much that he tasted in his mouth a liquidy iron taste. Gaining his thoughts once more and recomposing himself, Aiden spoke his next words with much delicacy and serenity.

"If you truly were that careful around me and cared about me, then what about this: you once told me that we'd always love each other and be there for each other; you once told me that you cared deeply for me; tell me this, do you care at all about what happens to me or what I do?" Aiden choked his words out through slightly watered eyes. The words almost hurt to speak them but the answer would probably hurt even more; however, he had to know.

A moment of silence passed between the pair for the first time since Aiden's arrival. A draft of wind glazed over the plateau that composed the roof of that building sending small leaves aloft as the questions asked were mulled over in the mind of his former girlfriend. If she was trying to fake an answer by stalling for time, it was working.

"I don't care what you do. It's your decision and your life and I'm not going to stand in your way." If losing the love of his life was not enough, the knowledge that she cared nothing for him or his well being crushed what remained of his still fragile and wounded heart.

A sniffle was retracted by the blond followed by a labored sigh as he finally learned the truth about his situation and how much the time he and Maranda had spent together really mattered to her.

"I see… So after everything we've been through as a couple, after all the time and money I sacrificed for your sake you still care nothing for me…" Aiden remarked as his head bowed lower and lower, his hat covering his eyes.

"Yeah…" came the answer as she looked at Aiden with somewhat of indifference towards him.

There are hardly any words that can describe what exactly it feels like to know that you are truly alone but Aiden felt the full weight of it. But on top of that, to feel rejection from one who had been so close… Aiden closed his eyes and they soon began to water once more when suddenly his mind clicked with a sudden thought and his eyes flashed open. His hands clenched into fists as he said, "Then none of my decisions matter to you?"

"No. Like I said: I don't care what you do." Maranda repeated.

"Very well. Then stand there while I eliminate your memory from my mind!" Aiden's hand reached for one of his Pokéballs and tossed it right at Maranda. A flash of light engulfed the area between the two and the form of Dragonair came hurdling through the air. "Fire Blast!"

The Pokémon reeled its head back and then shot its head forward as it released an intense burst of flames right at the female opponent. The distance between the attack and the girl closed almost as rapidly as it had existed and the assaulting flames passed over her body and engulfed her in an intense spray of flame and intolerable heat. With such an intense burst of heat it was difficult to keep one's eyes open. Sweat just oozed from every pore of the body as the heat radiated the air of that roof plateau. But something was not right. The flames seemed to be spreading out too much.

"No… Something's not right…" Aiden murmured to himself. Suddenly, the flaming aura that surrounded the girl was torn apart in a sphere passing the remaining flames harmlessly to the side and revealing in the midst the unscathed form of Maranda. "Wait! But how…?" His eyes then lowered to her legs where the pink, fluffy form of a Clefairy stood grinning with its little fingers on either side of its head.

"Hmm. I see. So you summoned that creature just in time for it to use its Protect defense to deflect my attack," Aiden said as he looked on in mild amusement.

The brown-haired female shook her head. "No, that's not it. Clefairy has the special ability to negate any attack that is fired from a distance. So your attack was rendered useless; although, you did almost catch me off guard."

"Then allow me to do it again. Dragonair, Double Team and Agility!" Obediently the dragon Pokémon split itself into multiple copies each of which quickly phased out of view and alternated positions as it neared Maranda and her Pokémon. The combination of the two attacks made it nearly impossible to track which image of Dragonair was the real one. "Now, Iron Tail!"

Every copy of the shiny Pokémon descended upon the pink fluff with their tails' glowing and pointed for the take down of the opponent.

"Minimize!" came the cry from the female and she jumped back slightly.

Aiden swore under his breath just as the Iron Tail attacks connected with the building shaking it with the ferociousness of the assault. Debris scattered into the air along with an impenetrable shroud of dust and smoke making the outcome of the attack unclear. A gust of wind then began to sweep away the veil revealing a single Dragonair with the top of its tail impaled into the building and the Clefairy nowhere in sight.

"Now use Double Slap!"

The Clefairy grew back to normal size appearing off to the side of the crater and leapt up and began to severely beat the dragon Pokémon with its bare hands. Its nails raked several time across the shiny leaving slight furrows as the rapid assault continued.

"It'll take more than that to beat us," Aiden boasted.

"Okay… How 'bout this? Metronome!"

"What? It knows that move!"

Backing off from its attack and leaping back to its trainer's side, the small two foot Pokémon began waving its hands back and forth which soon began to glow. In fact, its whole body began to glow as if powering up for an attack. A passing cloud that had momentarily blocked out the sun was now passed engulfing the Clefairy in the sun's light.

"It's a…"

"Solarbeam!" Maranda finished triumphantly upon seeing her good fortune with the manifestation of such a good random move.

"Protect! Now!" Aiden yelled out to his Pokémon. Only a couple of meters separated Dragonair from the imminent attack that if hit head on directly could have unpleasant results. The blue formation of the Protect defense began to fizzle into place, but the distance was too close for it to fully form. The attack of the Solarbeam sizzled the weak defense and slowly broke through it, and though the strength of the attack had been reduced it still had great impact at such a close range.

Dragonair's tail was stuck no longer in the building for once the attack hit its body it was wrenched backward toward its master as it reeled in pain as much as the distance that closed between the Iron Tail crater and its master. The creature landed with a thud as it skidded close enough to Aiden where he could run a few meters to his fallen comrade.

"Are you all right?" Aiden knelt down and lifted up the head of his Pokémon up into his arms gingerly. Though it had taken a direct, nearly full power blast from the Solarbeam, the dragon Pokémon still had the energy and will to fight. It slowly began to rise up to face the opponent once more but its progress was hindered by the hand of its master holding it back and by his now calm voice. "No, wait…"

The Pokémon glanced into the eyes of its trainer and trilled as it seemed to ask why.

"I have a feeling that I might need you later so conserve your energy. And besides, this Pokémon here," Aiden said taking out a small sphere which pulsated and glowed with a red hue, "Is just itching for a fight."

With a respectful nod, the shiny Dragonair understood what was required of it. As it floated to a watchful position behind his trainer Aiden stood to his feet and regarded his opponent with renewed passion in his eyes.

"I must admit. That was a fairly good move. I see that you've been training since we went our separate ways."

"You got that right. And we're just getting started," Maranda replied giving her opponent a wink.

"So am I!"

A bright flash and a moment later and the form of a bipedal lizard with a flaming tail entered the battle stage. Its orange skin shimmered and glowed not only because of the sunlight but also because it was natural. Shiny Charmeleon was once again called upon for battle and it tensed with the anticipation of pre-battle drama. He narrowed his eyes and flexed its muscles and began to growl ferociously at both Clefairy and Maranda.

"What is this? Why are your Pokémon colored differently? That won't help you 'ya know!"

Aiden could not help but scoff at her ignorance, but then again, she never really was as intelligent as himself so it was understandable to a certain degree. Only a few people even know about shiny Pokémon and even fewer still have ever seen one in person. One would be extremely lucky to even get a glimpse of a shiny. They were almost as rare as some of the legendary Pokémon, perhaps, even more so!

The blond was about to just attack and ignore her comment but a scheme began to take formation in his mind. _Maybe I can play off her ignorance._ As a devious smile formed across his lips he chose his next words carefully with a calm tone of great seriousness.

"You're wrong! It will help me more than you know! These are rare Shiny Pokémon and they are endowed with powers far greater than their non-shiny relatives."

"You're bluffing," Maranda said blowing off his words like nothing. "I took down your Dragonair, no problem!"

"After taking a direct Solarbeam attack, most other normal Pokémon would have been knocked out completely. But mine is still able to fight."

"Then why not let it fight?" came the sneering question.

"Because our friend here, Charmeleon, was burning up so much with a passion to fight you that his Pokéball started glowing." Aiden shrugged his shoulders. "I've never heard of anything like that before; that is, until I came across these Shinies. You are way out of your league."

Charmeleon began to glow with a reddish-orange hue as its body became surrounded in an aura of flames. It flexed its muscles and huffed two pillars of fire from its nostrils. As it narrowed its eyes at its opponent the flame on its tail suddenly began to increase in both size and intensity.

"Don't believe me? Then just try me," Aiden jeered.

"I… I still don't believe you," the girl replied, though her voice did not reflect the conviction of her words.

"Well then… Come on and find out!"

Maranda was still not convinced of what he had said, however, she was no fool. She was frozen in thought over what to do. If he was telling the truth then perhaps she really was out of her league. But on the other hand, if he was lying then the only way to prove it was to attack. Surviving a near direct hit from a Solarbeam, a glow Pokéball simply because of an excited Pokémon — fact was, these creatures frightened her. And the way that his Charmeleon exuded such power and strength now was intimidating to say the least. She turned her head off to the side trying to avoid eye contact with the fire lizard. Clefairy turned around and gave a small cry as if to ask what's wrong.

"If you won't come, then I will!"

The shiny Charmeleon charged for Maranda and for her Clefairy both of whom were caught off guard. No countermeasure could be taken in order to avoid the imminent strike from the fire lizard. It raised its claws for the striking blow when suddenly a blast of water shot out from an aerial angle behind and above Maranda which was aimed straight at Charmeleon. The creature saw the incoming blast and managed to slow its momentum enough to side leap backwards high into the air. As Charmeleon was still in the air the blast of water followed him and was threatening to drench its flame tail in a torrent of chilling water. The lizard opened its mouth and let loose a flame attack at the water blast to keep it far enough away from its tail. Steam began to fill the air shrouding the area and preventing anyone from clearly determining the outcome. However, the silhouettes of Charmeleon, its attack, and the water attack could still be seen. The flame burst from Charmeleon and the water blast from the unknown source fought for control but just as it seemed like the flame would win out the water source increased in size forcing the still aerial Charmeleon backwards through the air far enough to where it would no longer land on the roof. As the water attack decreased in intensity Charmeleon began to descend and accelerate down towards the ground.

"No! Charmeleon! Dragonair, get him!" Aiden stretched his hand outward to where he saw the descending form of his Pokémon commanding his Dragonair to save it. _He won't be able to survive such a fall!_ Aiden expected to feel a rush wind from his Pokémon swooping down to obey his order, but he felt nothing. "Dragonair…!" He turned around and paused as his eyes began to comprehend the scene behind him.

Dragonair struggled to maintain a Protect spell between itself and a water attack from the same unknown source that was aimed at its master. The familiar blue hue from the Protect spell glowed brightly as it held the attack at bay. And just as before, the water attack doubled in size and intensity driving the dragon Pokémon back inch by inch. The pressure of so much water was beginning to take its toll on the Protect spell evidenced by the blue hue beginning to slowly fade.

"Wait! What's this?" Aiden said in a stupor-like tone. "What's going on?"

The Dragonair turned back slightly and trilled. Suddenly, a soothing yet strained male voice began to speak from out of Aiden's inner short sleeved coat pocket. It came from his specialized PokéDex. _"Isn't it obvious, sir? If I left your side to save Charmeleon then they would have attacked you and you would have met the same fate as our friend."_

"Dragonair…" Aiden fell to his knees and gripped the clothing that covered them. "I… I told you to save him! Why didn't you?"

"_Because… your life was in danger, sir."_

"That's no excuse! You could have saved him and me, if necessary!" Aiden yelled.

"_I… I don't think I could have… That attack earlier did more damage than I thought. I could have only saved one of you. And if while I was trying to save Charmeleon you perished, then I would have failed you. It was thanks to you that I'm still here and I will not allow you to come to harm. And I will risk my own life for you just like you did for me in the Safari Zone."_

Aiden froze. _That's right._ _I did save him, didn't I._ He recalled the danger he went through as a young teenager to see the then Dratini to safety. He had risked his life to save Dratini against some of the more aggressive Pokémon in the Zone. Ever since that time, the pair had been inseparable. That act of selflessness must have made a bigger impression on Dragonair then Aiden had thought.

"You're right…" Aiden stammered.

"_Don't forget that we have a new ally!"_ Dragonair reminded.

"Yeah, I remember." The boy kept his head bowed low as he slowly reached for the brim of his cap.

"_Are you ready, boss?"_

"Hmph. Like you even need to ask. Let's take them down together!" As Aiden stood to his feet he turned his hat around backwards so that the brim of it was on the back of his head. This fight was now serious.


	5. Chapter 4: Rooftop Battle Pt 2

**Chapter 4: Rooftop Battle Pt. 2**

"_That's more like it!"_ Dragonair turned and narrowed its eyes at the water attacks which continued to assault the ever-weakening shield.

"Twister!" Aiden called out.

The Protect spell broke just as Dragonair began to execute the swirling attack. Both beams of water pressed forward but were caught up in the vortex of Dragonair's attack creating what looked like a watery tornado. The onslaught of the water finally ceased from the source and the morphed silhouettes of the attackers from Aiden's perspective could be seen through the waterspout. But being concerned with them was not his main focus. He had to figure out what to do with the water that was left over. And he just how to do that.

"Now, Dragonair! It's time to use Shock Wave!"

A gentle yellow glow from inside the vortex revealed for an instant the form of the dragon Pokémon as it released a charge of electricity into the waterspout. Burst after burst of super charged electrons ionized the water creating a swirling water vortex with ever-increasing spiraling electricity coursing through every molecule of water. An innumerable amount of bolts of the yellow energy licked the outside of the vortex as it continued to increase in intensity. The air around the vortex was tense and filled with static and every contender on that rooftop could feel the hairs of their bodies standing on end.

"Maranda, and your companions, you all picked the wrong person to mess with!" Though he could not discern the other attackers clearly, and for that matter Maranda herself, Aiden could somehow sense their presence and their fear at this dominate display of power. He could not help but smirk a bit as his gaze shifted and focused on the attack that lay swirling practically at his feet. He had practiced combining attacks before with his Pokémon to create devastating combos but he had only mastered a few. This one certainly would have to be written in his book. But it would need an appropriate name. He thought for a moment about how it was created and what it was now and then he was struck with the perfect name for this new combo. "Dragonair! It's time! Secret technique, Shock Wave Vortex!"

The roar of the attack as well as the crackle from the sheer amount of electrical energy jolting through the water twister was nigh deafening. Splashes of water sloshed out from the swirling vortex covering any on the roof in a mist that almost blinded the eyes. The swirling mass began to slowly move towards the targets and as it was sent on course Dragonair emerged from the top of the cyclone and swooped down next to his master as the pair of them watched the outcome. A small, deep-ingrained furrow was left in the roof where its destructive power cut through.

With the sheer magnitude of such a destructive combo only the most skilled trainer could evade. It would take either a Pokémon master to disperse such an attack and neutralize it completely or it would take a miracle.

The massive attack converged on Aiden's opponents with a mighty crash. Suddenly, the yellow glow from the electricity that flowed through the tornado began to rapidly disappear and converge on a single point beyond the watery twister. Then the water of the mighty beast seemed to be getting sucked out of it and drawn to a different point. At last, the darkened silhouette of another Pokémon dove on into the remaining cyclone and before Aiden could get a handle on what was happening a focused blast of wind shot out from the cyclone dispersing the remainder of the power left in it. The immense radiation of wind from the dispelled cyclone spewed what little water remained in it outward in a 360 degree sphere drafting the entire rooftop and coating everything in small droplets of water.

Shielding his eyes with his arms Aiden asked in great confusion, "What the…! What's going on?" As the intensity slowly started to lessen slightly he was able to finally see with greater clarity the figures before him who had defied his combined attack combination. Where the cyclone once had been was the kneeling and wearied form of Maranda's Clefairy. Behind the pink fluff were two other Pokémon Aiden recognized as Lanturn and Poliwrath. Though slightly obscured from the Pokémon that were before them, Aiden was able to see enough of a glance of the two unknown assailants that his eyes widend in sudden recognition of at least one of them. "You…! I remember you from earlier today! You were in that group harassing Vivian!"

"You mean… her!" Emerging from the shadows of the rooftop stair tower was the figure of another man. He was tall but he was also big bellied. His stance was slumped like the rest of his facial features and his short brown hair barely touch his rather large ears. The most prominent feature on his face was his large nose which looked like more of a beak than a nose. Held out in front of him was the bound up form of Vivian. "Here, Randy, catch!" He tossed Vivian forcibly to another member of their group.

"Vivian!" Aiden spoke her name in relief but froze when he saw and recognized the face of the third man of this trio of newcomers. _That's him! Nicho… Jon…_ Aiden's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched along with his hands and his breathing became a great deal more labored. His voice echoed a deeper and much darker tone as he growled out, "You…! You have a lot of nerve showing your face here!"

As if he heard nothing, Nicho or Jon turned to Maranda and spoke to her. "Sorry that we're late. But we were… uh… delayed."

"Oh! That's all right, Nicho! I'm just glad that you're here!" Maranda said enthusiastically as she ran to his side. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek out of her gratitude.

"Don't you ignore me, you spineless coward!"

Maranda turned towards the one who was holding Vivian and addressed him. "Great job, Sven! If anyone could have broken up that attack it would have been you!"

"Huh? Sven? Could it be…?" Aiden focused his gaze upon the other man whom he had just casually glanced at before. He studied his features carefully and mentally tried to align a picture of someone else he knew. _Could it be… Larson? _The picture of the one named Larson and this current person named Sven slowly began to level side by side and suddenly Aiden recognized this aged Sven as the same person he had known before!

"When you're a genius, it's easy," came his cocky remark from the skinny dark blond haired kid. Like Jon, Sven also had a rather big nose but he had ears that protruded farther from his head than Jon. His placid smile matched his attitude that Aiden had remembered him always having. But Aiden knew that Sven's smile was greatly deceiving, whether Sven realized it or not.

"Jon… Larson… Maranda…" Aiden spoke darkly. "The old group reunited once again."

Sven turned his gaze upon the one who had spoken his other name. "We meet again, Aiden. I hardly recognized you now after you left our group so long ago."

"Don't even pretend like you missed me! You and Jon never liked me! You would only talk sarcastically to me and you'd always try to belittle whatever I tried to do! And, Jon," Aiden said turning to the other person, "You hardly ever spoke to me. I cannot remember a time when you actually talked to me on your own and not through another person. You didn't have the balls; you weren't man enough to face me with your problems. Instead you simply ran off letting Maranda here try to patch things up. Looks like things haven't changed much since I left."

"That is merely your own opinion," Sven replied nonchalantly. "I don't really expect you to understand the logic of my genius."

"Then perhaps as a _'genius'_ you'd like to explain to me how you stopped my attack?" Aiden said with a degree of sarcasm behind his voice. _A "genius" my butt…_

"Certainly," Sven said almost gratefully. "If it will put your mind at ease…"

Aiden growled as the blood in his veins began to boil from the sarcasm that flowed like honey from his mouth. It took all of his effort, his self control not to charge at Sven and rip out his tongue.

"There was no way that any one of our Pokémon alone could have stopped or even repelled your combination attack. But if it was a combination of three attacks then three Pokémon was all it would take. First off, my Lanturn has the special ability to absorb any electrical attacks into that yellow bulb coming off of his head. So the electrical energy from your attack was drained away giving my own Pokémon a boost in power."

"I see…" Aiden focused on the blue and yellow Pokémon. _That explains why all the electricity was drawn to a single point._

"Then, Randy's Poliwrath here was able to draw off the water element due to its special ability. But we still had to deal with the cyclone. It occurred to me once your Dragonair escaped from the top of the cyclone that there must be an 'eye' to your storm. A calm spot. And thanks to boost in power, my Lanturn was able to pierce through the cyclone and unleash the attack Hidden Power to dissipate the remnants of your combo attack. Pretty cool, huh?"

Aiden's angered sneer slowly changed into a gentle chuckle. "Yeah, maybe if I were a novice trainer."

"Oh, come now. Don't be like that," Sven said tauntingly.

"_You_ are on thin ice, pal!" Aiden sneered.

"Don't listen to him. He's just mad that he was beaten," Jon sneered.

"What'd you just say?"

"I said that you've been beaten!" Jon repeated. "And that you could never defeat us all in battle."

The other kid then spoke up. "I warned you not to mess with members of Team Rocket! And now we'll make you regret it!" The kid forcibly grabbed a bunch of Vivian's hair and held her out just enough so that Aiden could see what was going on.

"What are you doing? Let her go!" Aiden screamed.

"I would but only if you gave me something in return," Randy answered.

"What could I possibly have that you'd…" Even as the words left his mouth his mind suddenly vibrated with the exact same words spoken by Sven.

"Your Pokémon," Sven said simply.

"Wha… Why?" Aiden asked with confusion. "Why would you want them?"

"Our organization is in the collection sort of business and your Pokémon would make fine members of Team Rocket. The mere facts that your Pokémon held off two water attacks for so long and that it took three of our own Pokémon to stop one attack from you is proof enough. And besides, that dragon Pokémon sells for a pretty high price. But it might be slightly lower due to whatever illness is causing its skin to be discolored," explained Sven.

"Huh? It was you…" Aiden huffed in surprise.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Sven asked.

"You don't appreciate my unusual colored Pokémon?"

Sven shook his head. "Heck no! Any Pokémon who is not colored like the rest of its species is plagued with some kind of disease and should be dealt with as a disease."

Dragonair growled fiercely at the comment. If it was not for Aiden telling him to calm down it probably would have attacked. "Sounds to me like you've seen something like this before," Aiden asked probing deeper into this development.

"Yeah! I had an Espeon once who was colored this ugly green puke color rather than its normal color. It refused to listen to anything I told it and I was always made fun of because of it. I never won a single battle with it. All it'd do would just roll over and play dead. And I couldn't sell the darn thing so there was only one thing to do with it. Get rid of it."

The more Sven spoke the more angered Aiden became. He clenched his fists as the alley scene replayed in his mind. It made more sense now. The damage to the alley walls and the carnage must have been a result of Sven punishment for Espeon's failure as his Pokémon, which means that Sven's partner through the entire alley ordeal must have been either Jon or the other kid on the roof.

"But your dragon Pokémon, despite its disease, would go for a pretty good price regardless of how…"

"That enough!" Aiden interrupted. "You left your best friend to die in that alley! With help from Jon, no doubt, you two beat it down into submission and left it to die! That is unforgivable!"

"What?" Sven feigned innocence. "I certainly didn't have any help from Jon. Besides, it's not like these _things_ are capable of emotions, not like humans are anyways. Pokémon are merely tools of warfare and a way to satisfy the human need for destruction. Why else would they show Pokémon battles on TV and why else would people want to become Pokémon trainers? Why did you become a trainer despite your parents' wishes?"

"I… uh…" Aiden stumbled for the words to say and in reality there was a degree of truth in what Sven was saying. The grueling battles portrayed on television had always sparked excitement in the spectators and in himself. There was something about watching the mayhem of a battle and the chaos that ensued that seemed to settle a desire in his heart and in no doubt the hearts of all watching. The sense of excitement of watching an intense battle was unparalleled second only to actually being the competitor in such a battle. All the emotions, the adrenaline, the rush — that is one of the many reasons people become Pokémon trainers.

"You don't have an answer to that because you know that deep in your heart what I'm telling you is the truth," Sven continued to prove his point. "They are merely tools of warfare to satisfy our desire for destruction and mayhem.

"No… You're wrong…" Aiden gazed back at Sven with his eyes narrowed. "They are so much more than just tools or weapons. They are living creatures capable of so much more than just destruction. Pokémon have become some of the greatest companions one could ever have."

"But they are _nothing_ in comparison to having human friends. They cannot show love and affection the way humans can. They cannot show friendship and loyalty the way humans can. They are far less superior than humans are and when it comes down to it, one person is far better than having hundreds of Pokémon. But you should know all about being without a human companion, right?"

"You… Listen to yourself spout such self-righteous crap about humans having such superior qualities like love and friendship and loyalty and yet, you treat your own Pokémon with such disrespect and cruelty! You just contradicted everything that you've just said!" Aiden could not help but scoff at such a blatant display of hypocrisy. "I see now by your own actions what you are and _not_ what you pretend to be."

For the first time since their encounter Sven was not able to come up with any sarcastic remark in reply. And anything he would have said was cut off when Aiden spoke up.

"But right now I'm more focused on rescuing Vivian and settling things once and for all with Maranda." His attention now centered on Maranda. "What I desire most is for you to leave me and those around me alone. Maranda, I don't know what caused you to get involved in this but I'm sure you know that something is not right here. Whether you joined Team Rocket because Jon was in it or because of Sven or because of whatever reason you should know that this is wrong. I don't know why you joined them. You were never like this when we were together and it hurts me to see what you've become."

Aiden lowered his head and dropped his eyes. "I know that you said that you didn't care what I did or what I became, but that doesn't change the fact that I still care what you do with your life. Your past does not matter as much as your present and future. The moment you think that no one cares about your future is the moment that you make mistakes you'll regret for the rest of your life."

"Enough…" came the shouting voice of Sven. He strutted quickly over towards Randy and took possession of Vivian and proceeded to walk her to the edge of the roof. "You have two choices: 1) You give up your Pokémon to us and Vivian goes free or 2) you fight us and watch as this girl plunges to her death. What's it gonna be, _hero_?"

Aiden's eyes widened in horror at the lengths that he was willing to go through in order to get what was never meant to be his. But the look on Vivian's face worried Aiden even more. Her face was construed in sheer terror and she was weeping tears of great anguish and distress. The tape across her mouth prevented her from screaming, but her face spoke volumes enough.

"You wouldn't dare…" Aiden challenged. He soon regretted it when Sven firmly griped one of her arms and slowly inched her closer to the edge until one of her feet was dangling over the streets below.

"W-Wait!" Aiden stammered unbelieving that Sven would actually do it. "Take it easy! Don't hurt her!"

"Then give me what I want!" Sven yelled.

"That's enough, Sven!"

Surprised at the new voice, Sven turned around to see that it was Maranda who was trying to stop him.

"What? Maranda? What are you doing?"

"That's enough, Sven! There's no need to put her in harm's way. This has gone on long enough. And we have plenty of other Pokémon from the festival to satisfy the higher ups and get enough money for ourselves as well."

Aiden cocked his head to the side. _They have plenty of __**other**__ Pokémon?_ _What's that supposed to mean…? Huh? Of course! I can't believe I couldn't see it before! They must have been running some kind of kiosk in Saffron's festival where they were able to collect other trainers Pokémon and are planning to sell them for a profit! Hmph… A classic black-market move. Well, not while I'm around._ He continued to watch as Sven, Jon, Maranda, and the other trainer began to argued things out. _Now's my chance that they are all distracted._

Slyly, Aiden reached with his right hand for a Pokéball on his belt and unhitched it silently and then lowered his hand back to his side, fisting the Pokéball tightly. He pursed his lips and made ready a whistle that would gain their attention. The moment of attack was critical to the success of seeing Vivian to safety and the timing had to be perfect. He was about to make his move when suddenly Sven lost his grip on Vivian and she started her slow descent to her death.

"Vivian!" Aiden growled at the carelessness of Sven. Aiden narrowed his gaze at Sven feeling the anger well up inside of himself to the point where he felt as if he would explode. "You fool! I'll make you paaaay!" he screamed up into the air and his body suddenly began to glow with an eerie black aura. Suddenly the sky began to darken with murky clouds shielding what little sun was left from reached them. Then in the blink of an eye the aura surrounding Aiden channeled up and behind Aiden and descended into the alley in between the PokéMart and the adjacent building. A brilliant flash of black light outlined with white illuminated the entire scene behind Aiden catching the eyes of not only Maranda, Jon, and Sven but also of those around the building who were witnessing the rooftop commotion and the sudden darkening of the sky. The booming sound of the black light disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and a new sound echoed through the air as the roar of a mighty dragon waking from its slumber. The screams from some of the people below evidenced that something had happened and that it was not good.

Jon, Maranda, Sven, and the other trainer looked at each other with expressions of confusion and fear at what the commotion below was all about. Sven's curiosity got the better of him and he leaned over the edge where he had dropped Vivian to catch a glimpse of the disturbance. At the exact moment he peered over a shadowy blur flew upwards right in front of him throwing him backwards. A rush of wind and a column of fire accompanied the unknown blur as it zoomed in the air towards Aiden. Fire streaked behind the shadow as it made a couple of passes around and behind Aiden before slowing down finally allowing everyone to see its physical form.

The creature landed in front of and to Aiden's right side and took shape as the mighty third evolutionary form of Charmander; however, it did not take on the appearance of its others species. Its outer skin shimmered like it did in the second form but the color of its skin shimmered with a midnight black hue. With its body standing erect it towered nearly six feet tall, a great deal taller than other Pokémon of its species. His wings were extended nearly to half span revealing the dark red color of its normally teal-green wings. Against the darkened sky the flame on the end of its black tail burned brightly with an ethereal glow and his eyes narrowed and glowed with the same fury as its tail. It huffed two small columns of fire from its nostrils and then gave a mighty roar that shook the entire rooftop and rang in the ears of those people close enough to it. Now they had done it. They had unleashed the beast.


	6. Chapter 5: The Beast Unleashed

**Chapter 5: The Beast Unleashed**

The quartet of trainers were stunned and paralyzed with such a fear that none of them had ever known previous to this event. All of them visibly shook and trembled where they stood and the Pokémon they had summoned were equally fearful at this newcomer. They all watched as Aiden walked of to it and slowly lifted something off the creature's back; they were all very surprised to see that it was Vivian! However, whether it from stress or terror or whatever the reason she appeared to be unconscious.

Aiden removed the tape from her mouth and gently placed her down on the ground safely away from the Armageddon that was soon to come. Once satisfied, he turned towards his opponents and took a few steps forward to align himself with his Pokémon.

"I warned you, didn't I? Now you'll feel the full fury of my wrath!" His voice seemed deeper and characteristically unnatural than his usual tone.

"Wh… W—Wait a minute!" the other trainer stuttered nervously. "Let's make a deal."

Curiously, Aiden glanced over to the trainer with the Poliwrath standing in front of him and raised an eyebrow. This fourth person must have been his replacement after he left Maranda's group. He was not at all as tall as himself and he was not at all as rounded as Jon. He was in fact as skinny as Aiden if not even more so. He had short brown hair that curled and pointed on his forehead. He wore black nearly rectangular frames that gave his brown eyes better sight.

"I don't know who you are but if you've sided with them then that makes you my opponent!" Aiden replied not bothering to listen to his proposal.

"B—But surely there must be something that we could give you in return for our safety? How about Maranda? She's the one you're really after, right?"

"Randy!" Maranda hissed back in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Yeah, man! What are you…?" Jon began.

"You guys saw him," Randy whispered amongst the group. "There's no way we can take him head on! Not with just the four of us. It'll take a lot more than that. If he takes Maranda hostage then perhaps he'll let you live and we can come back in greater numbers and not only rescue you but also take him down for good."

"Ohh…" Sven replied mulling over the idea. "But if he attacks us now then we may have to fight anyways."

"Hmmm… Randy, am I right?" Aiden called out to the younger kid.

"Yeah? What is it?" Randy asked stepping forward slightly.

"Let me ask you something. How long have you been a part of this group?"

"Ummm…" Randy said stumbling for the answer. _What does that have to do with anything?_ After a quick recount, Randy replied, "About four months. Why?"

Aiden merely shook his head. "Then I have no choice…"

"What'd you mean?" Randy suddenly began to feel uneasy as was the other three members of their little group.

"You've been with them long enough to know them personally. If you would have just joined up with them, say within a week or two, then perhaps your redemption would have been realized. But since you've been with them for a while and know them on a personal level, I have no choice." The same ethereal black aura that surrounded Aiden before appeared once more, this time encompassed Charizard's body.

"Get ready guys," Sven yelled reaching back on his belt for reinforcements realizing that Aiden would not listen and that he'd have to summon more help for this battle.

Scarce were the words out of his mouth when suddenly his entire body froze in place and he could not even move a muscle. He felt an extreme amount of pressure being exerted on his body from an unknown source causing him to growl in pain. The pressure seemed to be coming from every direction at once.

"What's… this…?" came Sven's question strained through clenched teeth. He could move his eyes just enough around him to notice that not only was he being affected by this immobility but also Jon, Randy, and Maranda stood frozen in place. Sven strained once more to move but could not budge himself. He looked over to Aiden with visible anger seething from his eyes. "What… the hell… did you… do to us?"

Aiden smiled and lifted up his right hand and pushed his thumb and middle finger together and gave them a quick snap. Leaping from off of the black lizard's back was another figure whose twin green tails shimmered and twisted through the air. The creature landed with ease in front of Aiden, the form of it easily recognized; however, it came as a shock to Sven as his eyes widened considerably.

"Es..pe..on…!"

"That's right…" Aiden glowered at Sven with slightly curved lips. "After I chased you guys down in that alley I discovered this amazing creature and lent it my help. In return, this Espeon, formerly your Espeon, Sven, desired to lend me its strength in this battle." His smile became more pronounced on his face as he saw the irony of this situation. "So, tell me. How does it feel knowing that your betrayal of this one creature will be not only your downfall but the downfall of your companions as well?"

"You…" Sven managed to wheeze out angrily. His breath felt like it was being suffocated from his lungs. His air passages seemed to be getting more and more constricted with each labored breath he tried to take. Any more of this and perhaps this would be his downfall. "Lan..turn…"

"It's no use calling for him. Both trainer and Pokémon are paralyzed by this Espeon's psychic ability. But don't worry. I won't let you suffer for much longer. But first…"

Aiden paused and then turned his gaze toward Maranda's general direction. She also struggled for breath like her companions. "Maranda, you did the right thing in stopping Sven. And for that, I thank you." Aiden sighed and finally lifted his eyes to meet her gaze one last time before he acted. "I loved you with everything that I was capable of and even more. I had never known a more wonderful feeling than when I was with you. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy; and if you've found that in _him_ then so be it. But, please, all that I ask of you now is this: Don't ruin your life with people who don't care or who are involved in such evil. Even though it hurts me, I pray that you are always happy… like the way we used to be."

Maranda listened intently to his final words and could not help herself when her eyes began to water; however, the tears did don't flow from her eyes but remained glistening in the crevices of her eyes. "Ai..dan…"

"I'm not going to do this because I hate you," Aiden began. "Hate is too strong of a word. No, I don't hate you… I'm… just disappointed." He lifted his arm out and pointed a finger at the ground right in front of the middle of the group. "Now, Charizard, it's time! Fire Blast!"

There was nothing that any of them could have done to avoid the attack or even stop it this time. All they could do was watch as the black Charizard glowed with an intense and furious glow before it leapt into the air slightly and released a swirling concentrated discharge of flames at them. The size and amount of fire that outpoured from the lizard's mouth was unreal. The Pokémon were the first ones to be struck and even though they were strong against fire attacks they were no match for the devastating attack. The Lanturn, Poliwrath, and Clefairy each were blasted backwards and into their respective trainers. Then the mass of tumbled Pokémon and humans began to lift off the roof as the Charizard slowly descended down onto the roof. They soon were hurtling through the air, hopefully to never be seen again.

"Full power!" Aiden screamed. The fire attack doubled or even tripled in strength and intensity accelerating his old companions far from Celadon and far from the reaches that the human eye could detect. A satisfied grin formed on Aiden's face as he watched them soar away from his life hopefully forever. And now they would think twice about coming back to this city. A sudden moan from behind him alerted his sense of hearing to a presence behind him but when he turned his head he realized that Vivian had finally wakened out of her "coma."

"Uhhh… My head…" the young trainer complained as she tried to lift her hands but was unsuccessful seeing as how she was still bound. "What the…?"

Aiden inhaled sharply and apologized. "Oh… I'm sorry. Hold still okay… Dragonair, Iron Tail."

The loyal subject nodded and dutifully swung into action cutting the restraints with ease without even scratching the skin of the brunette trainer and then drifted gracefully back to his trainer's side.

"Are you all right?" Aiden asked with a pleasant grin as he extended his hand down to help her off the ground.

"Umm… Yeah, Thanks…" Vivian replied grabbing his hand. With a little tug from Aiden she managed to pull herself up to her feet, but the momentum at which she came up was far greater than she thought and when she was standing on her feet her body came within inches of his own. Vivian looked up and blushed when she realized that she was within inches of his face too.

"I… uhh…" she stammered feeling the temperature of her body increase and her breathing coming in at shorter and shorter intervals. She could feel his strong arms around her back holding her up giving her chills of excitement rippling across her body. "Thank…you…" she managed to breathe out.

"I'm just glad that you're all right, Vivi," Aiden replied in his deep soothing voice. Just the mere sound of his voice enveloped greater feelings of excitement within Vivian and yet, at the same time, his voice was calming and relaxing. It was almost like listening to the gentle ebb and flow of a small stream as the water weaved through a riverbed that simply flowed with the natural current. He began to move in closer to her and Vivian felt her heart begin to race with excited anticipation. She closed her eyes and moved slowly to meet her rescuer's lips with her own. Vivian was rewarded with a gently kiss on her forehead as she felt his breath for a moment on her face as he kiss her.

"Come on! Let's get going!" Aiden said as he backed away from her and signaled for her to follow.

Vivian opened her eyes and saw Aiden back away and signal for her to follow. She immediately felt disappointment for not receiving what she had hoped for; however, she did get a kiss on the forehead. _It would have been better if it was on my lips but… still… I did like that…_ Vivian was broken from her train of thought when Aiden came up to her and snapped his fingers right in front of her face.

"Hey! You all right?" Aiden asked with concern. She had, after all, been through quite a bit more than anyone else her age had been through in one day. He could see how she might suffer from symptoms of distress, trauma, and a slight inclination towards anxiety. On top of being kidnapped by his ex- and her cohorts, she had fallen off the top of the Celadon Pokémart and had fainted sometime between being the fall and being caught by his Pokémon. And who knows what _they_ did to her while she was under their custody.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. Thanks," Vivian replied gratefully. "And… thanks for coming to help me…"

"You're welcome. I was glad to do it. And I'm sorry about my ex- and everything that happened here…"

"No…" Vivian interrupted. "It's all right. It wasn't your fault." She felt her face flush red with embarrassment. "I also want to thank you for earlier today when you fought off those three guys for me. It was very brave of you to help a stranger like me…"

Aiden could not help but crack a two-fold smile. First of all, his smile was from the gratitude that Vivi displayed and for the fact that she expressed her thankfulness. And secondly, Aiden smiled because of the thought that occurred to him for the reason why he initially decided to help her.

_That's funny. _Aiden thought to himself in amusement. _I initially helped because my nap was being halted._ The smile on his face faded slightly as he mused over his last thought and corrected it. _But… that's not the right attitude to have about it… I did it because…_

"I did it because I have the responsibility to maintain the peace and well being of those who are less fortunate than I." Aiden paused for a moment and then realized what he actually said. "I-I-I mean… not to say that you are any less fortunate than me and that I'm some kind of… umm… I mean that…"

"Aiden… It's all right… I understand…" Vivian said as she walked to his side. "I know what you meant…" With that, she leaned up and returned his kiss with a kiss of her own to his forehead. "Come on. I need to go look for my Pokémon."

"Your Pokémon?"


	7. Chapter 6: Joining Team Rocket

**Chapter 6: Joining Team Rocket**

Vivi briefly explained to Aiden her whole story after he had left her. She told him about the booth set up in the city and about the strangers who had promised her accelerated Pokémon training. Upon Aiden's questioning, Vivi recalled every detail she could remember for him from the embroidered lettering to the description of the girl running the phony booth.

"Sounds like the one running the booth was my ex-. But now that she's gone, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where your Pokémon are." Aiden looked around the rooftop almost half-expecting to see Vivi's missing Pokémon come out of nowhere to be reunited with their trainer. But those types of things rarely ever happen in real life. Aiden sighed wishing that that would have been the case here and that they'd have a happy ending. _Now what? My only leads to finding her Pokémon are now far away from here thanks to my Fire Blast attack…_ His thought ended suddenly when another thought came crashing into it. _Wait… if they took her Pokémon in Saffron, then why come out here to Celadon?_

"What is it?" Vivi asked.

"I'm a bit confused by their tactics. If they took your Pokémon from you in Saffron then why did they come out here to Celadon? Hmm…" Aiden began to process other possible explanations for their behavior in his mind._ They used to have a base of operations here in Celadon, but that was discovered some time back. And in Saffron, they had taken over the Silph Co. building, but that also was resolved. So why? Could they be so foolish as to reclaim their base here? Maybe. But they were running a phony booth then they must have a base somewhere close._ "Vivi… are you sure that there were just the two that you saw? The man you ran into and the girl at the booth?"

"Yes. The girl was running the booth and the other man was walking away from her."

"About this man who bumped you…"

"Oh! Him? Well, the only thing I can remember is that he bumped me real hard. Seemed like he was in a hurry. And when I turned around, he was carrying a large bag and had the jacket that had the letters…"

"Wait, what?" Aiden cut her off. "He had a bag? You didn't tell me that earlier!"

"I, uh, didn't think it mattered," she replied sheepishly.

"Which direction was he headed?"

"Hmmm…" She then paused trying to recall more details of her encounter at the booth. "I don't remember."

_Ugh! Really? Come on! That would've helped me out a whole lot! _Aiden stopped and calmed himself trying to keep himself under control. But ever since that heated battle, he was on edge still feeling the rush of emotions and adrenaline coursing through his body. And on top of that, it was with his ex- nonetheless! And she had told him that she didn't care about what he did or what happened to him! Of course he would be on edge! "Can't you remember anything else about the booth? Any small detail?"

"Well, come to think of it, the girl at the booth handed the box that had my Pokémon back behind the curtain to somebody."

Aiden sucked in his lips and bit his tongue. _Wow! Now you remember that!_ He took a deep breath. _Calm down._ Feeling that he was calm enough, Aiden began to think things through. "Well obviously, she wasn't alone. Not only here in Celadon on the roof, but also at the booth…"

Then it suddenly hit Aiden. _Of course! Why didn't I see it earlier? It's so blatantly obvious! It was in front of me this entire time, even during the battle! But that's what makes it so clever!_

"Come on!"

"Huh? What? Where?" Vivi asked confused.

"We need to leave now! Before it's too late!" Aiden started to recall all of his Pokémon except for one of them for which he had immediate need for. _With it already late afternoon, it'll soon be dark and by then it may be too late._

"Why? What's going on? Do you know where they took my Pokémon?" Vivi asked with her hands in front of her in a hopeful prayer position.

"Perhaps…" Aiden said with a sneer. He then ran over to his black Charizard and effortlessly climbed onto its back as if he'd done this a thousand times. Aiden then reached his hand out to the girl. "Here, take my hand! It'll be faster on him!"

"But… I don't know where you're going… and… and…" Vivi trailed off as her eyes darted from him to the shiny black creature upon which he was seated. Just the mere sight of the dragon-like creature was frightening. The creature's glowing red eyes sent shivers down Vivian's spine. She slowly started to back away from the pair feeling fear begin to paralyze her body.

"Hey!" Aiden called out. "Hey!" he said a bit louder accompanied with snapping his fingers. Vivi was suddenly snapped from her trance and looked at the young man. "It's all right," he reassured with his soothing voice. "He may look scary on the inside but I assure you that he won't hurt you. Come on. We need to catch up to those who you're your Pokémon and it will be much faster if we take him," he said with a smile. _And we'll be able to get out of town fast enough so that we're not recognized and your reputation is not marred._ "Besides, you want to save your Pokémon from those poachers, right?"

Vivian took a huge breath and closed her eyes. She then slowly exhaled her fears (well most of them) and opened her eyes. "Yeah, you're right!" She took a few steps forward trying to suppress her overwhelming fears and reached for Aiden's hand. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and behind him. Almost instantly without him having to tell her, Vivian put her arms around his waist and gripped her hands together.

"Hey…" Aiden said hoarsely with his head turned slightly to her. "You can loosen your grip on me so that I can breathe."

"Ohh… sorry…" Vivian said loosening her fierce hold on his body.

"But do hold on to me!" Aiden then turned to his Pokémon and leaned down slightly to speak with it. "All right! Let's do this!" Charizard nodded and took a few running steps towards the edge before he crouched down low to leap off the edge. He leapt off the roof with such force that he cracked the rooftop where he had jumped. And with a mighty flap of his wings, they were airborne and moving at a considerably fast rate, so fast that the people below were barely able to see something black streak across the sky. Aiden whispered something into Charizard's ears and the creature seemed to nod in understanding. He then turned back to Vivian and said, "Hold on!"

As if they weren't moving fast enough, Charizard suddenly seemed to turn on the afterburners and their speed at least doubled, if not more. Now they were moving so fast that a thin trail of fire followed behind them. At such speeds, it became difficult to breathe. It felt as though you couldn't catch your breath. Vivian closed her eyes and leaned her head against Aiden's back to shield her face enough from the wind speed so that she could catch her breath. She felt breathless and lightheaded. Her grip around his body shifted up slightly and tightened. The wind whipped around her so fiercely that she couldn't even hear anything._ I can't go on like this for much longer,_ she thought in agony. Just as the thought passed through her mind, their speed slowed and she could suddenly breathe much easier.

"Sorry 'bout that," Aiden said over his shoulder. "We needed to get here fast."

"It's okay. Just where…" Vivian began to ask but stopped when she opened her eyes. She saw off to her right a great expanse of water. She looked to her right and saw that they were now following the coastline.

"We're headed to Vermillion City. So the water you see on the right is the Vermillion Bay." Aiden then motioned his Charizard to descend a bit lower. "You see, Team Rocket members almost exclusively use Normal-, Poison-, or Fighting-types. So that's why I didn't think much into my ex-'s Clefairy 'cuz it's a Normal-type. But, when the other three emerged, I was so caught off guard that it didn't even register to me that their Pokémon didn't fit those types."

"So…?" Vivian asked still not seeing the significance. So they had other types of Pokémon, big deal. She had a variety of Pokémon and so did he. What did it matter the types of their Pokémon.

"So, that means that Sven, Jon, and that Randy kid were either helping of their own accord or they were actually members of Team Rocket," Aiden explained further as he directed his Charizard to descend a bit lower.

"I still don't see your point." Vivian was so confused. _Maybe he's thinking into this too much._

"That Randy kid was one of the ones who were picking on you earlier. You remember what that group said to us before they left?"

"Ummm… something bout you'll pay for messing with members of Team Rocket?"

"Exactly! So Randy must be a Team Rocket grunt. That means that the other two must also have a connection to Team Rocket. And out of the three of them, there were two water types."

"Aiden, I still don't see how that matters."

"I was confused for a while wondering why if their scam was based in Saffron, why would they take you to Celadon? Why would they go so far out of their way? Because they wanted to lure me, lure us out of their way. Lure me away from their base of operations. I must admit, they almost had me thrown."

"But where's their base?" Vivian asked feeling the tingle of anticipation.

"What city around here is known largely on its water-based industry?" Even before the words escaped his mouth, Vivian knew what city he spoke of. "Vermillion! See, I've heard of members of Team Rocket who were given specific tasks requiring them to use Pokémon types other than the Normal-, Poison-, or Fighting-types typical of other members. And the only city close that would fit them using water types would be Vermillion." Just as he named the city, a few of the taller buildings of the city appeared over the horizon.

"Ohhh… It makes sense now… kinda…" Vivian said.

"Yeah. But we can't get too close. Unfortunately, we'll have to walk for a bit so that way we're not spotted. It is getting late and a flaming tail is easy to spot at night," Aiden pointed out. "Charizard, put us down here."

The creature dutifully obeyed landing on the ground with grace and silent elegance. Both trainers jumped off of Charizard's back and Aiden reached for his Pokéball. He gently rubbed and scratched Charizard's neck.

"Thanks. You did great. Take a rest. I may need your strength later." With that, a red laser light extended from Aiden's Pokéball, engulfing the shiny black flame lizard, and drawing it back into the small sphere. Aiden looked at Vivian and nodded. "Let's go find your Pokémon!"

Darkness had already settled into the city as the Aiden and Vivian slinked into the city from the west side. The pair crouched behind the building and slowly moved their way further into the city. They had made their way to the western side of a building near the docks. Aiden peered around the corner towards the docks and quickly retracted his head. He then turned to Vivian and put his fingers to his lips. Aiden then slowly peered around the corner again. The docks were filled with at least a dozen grunts all of them wearing a shirt with a red R.

_That's a lot of grunts. Let's see, one, two, three…_ Aiden said mentally. _There's at least 8 of them. And if each one has 6 Pokémon, that makes… about 48 Pokémon. Against my 6 Pokémon, the odds are 8 to 1 in their favor. Hmm… that might be a problem. Besides…_ Aiden looked back towards Vivian. _I'll have to protect her in the process._ Aiden turned and motioned for her to follow. He poked his head out the other side and gasped. Two more of them were headed right in their direction!

_Now what?_ Aiden thought frantically. _Calm down… think._ Aiden crouched low to the ground and Vivian followed his lead wordlessly. He turned her direction noticing that her hands were trembling immensely and her breathing was becoming more intense. Aiden could now hear the shuffle of feet as the two Rocket members drew closer. He slowly reached for a Pokéball and unclipped it from his belt silently. However, he hesitated. If he summoned his Pokémon, he would lose his element of surprise due to the noise and flash. But if he didn't do anything, then they would surely be discovered. Aiden felt his pulse begin to race and sweat bead up on his forehead. He swallowed hard and then froze sure that they must have heard that. _What do I do?_

Then if by an answer to prayer, the pair started to fiddle with the door to get inside. Apparently the guy was having trouble trying to get into the building 'cuz Aiden heard a female voice scolding him.

"Give it here!"

A second later, an audible click sounded and both lock and chain fell off.

"See! Wasn't that hard!"

"Come on! Gimme a break. I'm tired and it's late," the guy complained.

"Ohh, stop your whining. You're getting paid, right? Just help me get this door open," the girl said exasperated.

The moment they started to push the door open, it started to screech. That was just what Aiden had hoped for. Aiden motioned for Vivian to back up. He then lowered his Pokéball low to the ground and it opened with a familiar pop and flash. Emerging from the ball was a sparkling blue… mist. Aiden then made hand signs at the funny blue mist.

_What is he doing?_ Vivian wondered. _And is that a Pokémon or what?_

The door stopped squeaking and the Rocket members walked inside the building still talking amongst each other. Or more like arguing. Aiden held his hand up in front of the mist for a second and listened. Then he pointed outward and the mist floated around him and around the corner. A moment later, Aiden and Vivian heard two thuds inside the building.

"Let's go," Aiden whispered to Vivian grabbing her hand. The pair snuck around the corner and into the building. Vivian tried to pull back immediately realizing that the Rockets grunts were inside. But Aiden stopped her and pointed to the floor. Lying on the floor were the two bodies of the grunts, one male and one female. Both of them appeared to be sleeping. Aiden let Vivian go and dashed towards the male.

"What you do to them?" Vivian asked her eyes widening.

"I knocked them out. Or rather _he _did," Aiden said.

Vivian looked in his direction and suddenly the blue mist formed in front of her and began to collect and take shape. Then suddenly, the dark silhouette opened its eyes causing Vivian to squeal.

In an instant, a hand covered her mouth and her squeal was silenced. "Shhh…" Aiden hushed in her ears and looked around to make sure no one heard her and come running. "This is my ghost partner Haunter. He was able to use his Hypnosis attack to put these two asleep."

Vivian calmed herself and felt Aiden release his hold on her. "Ohh… Gotcha…"

"Come on! I need you to put on her clothes," Aiden said as he walked over to the unconscious male grunt.

"What?" Vivian exclaimed softly. "Are you serious?" Her question didn't really need an answer because Aiden was already in the process of taking off the male grunt's shirt.

Aiden turned to her, smiled, and produced two Rocket member i.d. cards. "For the next few moments, we're gonna be members of Team Rocket! Welcome aboard Team Rocket!"


End file.
